Bait(70)

I feel her eyes on me all the way as I retreat into the last of the evening sun.

My truck is waiting in the car park. I take the route I’ve already mapped out, pulling into a short stay space down by the old bridge.

I get out and position myself between two buildings, out of view of the road and invisible until the last minute from the direction she’ll be travelling in.

She’ll walk right past me without a clue, that’s what I count on.

And she does.

I’ve only been waiting twenty minutes when I hear her heels heading in my direction. I’m ready for her as she turns the corner and carries on down the street none the wiser.

She doesn’t even have time to squeak when I snatch her. Her legs barely flail before I bundle her straight up and into my backseat.

“No questions,” I snap, before I close the door. “You ask me where we’re going and I’ll hurt you, understand?”

Her eyes are wide as she nods at me.

I slam the door and jump up into the driver’s seat. I’m pushing the speed limit as I head out onto the Worcester road with my pretty little piece of bait on the backseat.

“Don’t fucking look at me,” I snarl as I catch her gaze in the rearview. She drops back down onto the seat. “Don’t look outside, either. You’ll go wherever I say we’re fucking going and you’ll keep your mouth fucking closed.”

I wonder if she’s still scared of me. I wonder if I’m still bad enough to be her monster in the night.

I’ll make it so.

I take a scenic route until the sunlight starts to fade. It’s well into dusk by the time I pull up outside my house.

I give her no indication that I live here, just drag her from the backseat and keep a solid grip on her.

She’s shaky as we cross the road and take the track up toward the beacon. Her breath is raspy as we reach the top and still I keep on shunting her ahead.

My black swan stares in wonder at the vista down below just as soon as she can see it. She edges closer to the bank to admire the sparkling lights of a sleepy town.

I’d let her admire them a while longer if the beast wasn’t burning in my belly.

She flinches as my voice cuts out loud. Her eyes are wild and wide as she glances back over her shoulder.

“Run,” I bark. “Now.”

She sucks in breath and takes off on her heels without so much as a question.

She’s frantic but slow, her skirt in her hands as she dashes across the uneven ground to clear some distance.

I wait.

Watch until she’s got a decent head start. Until she’s far away on the path ahead and the sun is finally thinking about dipping under the horizon.

And then I let out the beast.





Thirty





Great things are done when men and mountains meet.

William Blake





Abigail



That crazy wild thrill. The fear thrumming right through me. The flutters and the jitters and the beautiful rush of adrenaline.

I feel it all.

It’s windy up here. So dark I can barely see my hands in front of me, scrabbling in the darkness.

There’s nothing ahead. Just open ground. Scrubby grass under my heels and the whole world twinkling down below, so stunning it would take my breath if I had any to spare.

I can’t run. A stumbling walk is all I can manage. I have no idea where I’m headed or how far he is behind me.

I listen out for his footfalls but all I can hear is the wind.

The wine is still in my blood. I’m not cold, even though my hair is whipping and my nipples are stinging under my dress.

My heels suddenly hit solid ground. A path of some kind. Grainy and gravelly. I spin to check it out, tapping my foot around me, but in a beat I’ve lost my bearings. I’m on top of the world with no idea whatsoever how I arrived here. I take a stab on a direction, but it leads me into a thicket. Wiry branches scratch at my legs through my dress. I back up, try another route, but end up in more of it.

My heart picks up another gear, knowing he must be closing. I’m listening hard, hearing nothing.

Maybe I’ve lost him.

I don’t know which is more terrifying – the thought of him slamming into me in the darkness or the thought of being lost for the night.

I curse as bracken spikes my outstretched hand, curse again as my heel sinks into soft ground.

Fuck.

And even in my terror, I’m laughing. Even as the adrenaline pulses, my soul soars free.

I dig deeper, push myself on, stumbling out of the undergrowth and back onto open grass. I fix my gaze on a set of lights in the distance and use them to keep my focus. Slow steady steps. Moving with purpose. On and on.

And then I see the stars.

They’re easily as brilliant as the lights down below.

A whole panorama of brilliance. All for me.